The Son of Perdition
The Son of Perdition
Opening song 100- great is thy
faithfulness
Closing song 430 - joy by and by
Scripture reading john 3:16-17
Topic: The son of
perdition
intro
I have chosen to speak
about a being that is loosely made mention of but vaguely comprehended. This is not an attempt to completely explain
him, as I cannot boast that I fully understand him. This much I can do, I can
share with you what has been revealed about Him to me in scripture.
Let us turn to our text
of study, john 3:16-17 which will be the starting text for the series that I
will be sharing with you for the next couple of days.
Before we begin to dig
in let us ask the Holy Spirit to attend us so that we can be led into all
truth.
Let us Pray!!
John 3:16-17
3:16 For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
3:17 For God sent not his Son
into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be
saved.
Who is a
son?
O.K. to start proper we
have to clarify some terms. The first of which is who is a son?
So…according to
scripture, who is a son?
Scripture documents two
types. A son is either one born by natural means or one who is adopted by
marriage. So you have literal son as documented in much of the bible, Gen 4, 5,
6 etc. Then you have son-in-law as documented in some parts of the genealogy of
Christ in Luke 3.
Difference in genealogy of Christ
One explanation, held by
the church historian Eusebius, is that Matthew is tracing the primary, or
biological, lineage while Luke is taking into account an occurrence of
"levirate marriage." If a man died without having any sons, it was
tradition for the man's brother to marry the widow and have a son who would carry
on the deceased man's name. According to Eusebius's theory, Melchi (Luke 3:24)
and Matthan (Matthew 1:15) were married at different times to the same woman
(tradition names her Estha). This would make Heli (Luke 3:23) and Jacob (Matthew
1:15) half-brothers. Heli then died without a son, and so his (half-)brother
Jacob married Heil's widow, who gave birth to Joseph. This would make Joseph
the "son of Heli" legally and the "son of Jacob"
biologically. Thus, Matthew and Luke are both recording the same genealogy
(Joseph's), but Luke follows the legal lineage while Matthew follows the
biological.
A special Son
Based on our last study
we understand that Jesus was not the son-in-law of Adam, but he was Adam's
direct biological son, as in his natural son. For further information on this
you can read the Sons of God
study on this blog.
Nevertheless understand
that Jesus was the son of Adam in a special sense. Although he had Adam to call
his natural father, he also had God to call his natural divine father.
Jesus is the only
begotten of the Father. The father has many sons by adoption (sons-in-law) but
only one begotten.(john 3:16, john 1:12)
This brings us to our
next text of study.
Gen 3:15
And I will put enmity between thee and the
woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou
shalt bruise his heel.
Who were these seeds?
In most cases the word
seed here is given the generic meaning of "descendants" and the
singular meaning referring to a specific being is dismissed.
Most bible students
quickly recognize the singular definition associated with the seed of the
woman. They quickly recognize that the seed of the woman is Christ, however
brand the seed of the serpent in most cases with the plural generic definition.
A little closer look at
the text will reveal that the meaning of seed used in the verse has both a
singular and a plural application.
Plural application
… between thy seed and her seed;
In this part of the
text, the meaning of seed is vague and it can be given the plural application
here. However there should be no mistake in the latter part of the verse that
the seeds referred to here are singular in nature.
Singular application
it shall bruise
thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Notice the singular
pronouns used. "it, thy, thou and
his"
There is no plurality
here described. This is definitely a conflict between two singular seeds….two
beings.
From the pronouns used
we can deduce the following about the seeds involved in this conflict:
The seeds were humans
and they were male
Notice the masculine
pronoun used- "his" this tells us that the seeds were going to be
male. By default this also tells us that these seeds were going to be human.
In spite of the fact
that one seed was referred to as being the seed of the serpent no doubt this
seed was indeed human and male. We will develop this further momentarily.
For now, one thing is
certain, these two seeds mentioned in Gen 3:15 were going to fulfill a special
mission in man's history. This too also spoke to the fact that they were to be
reckoned as part of man's family (human).
The seed of the woman
For a moment let us
consider the seed of the woman. When the
bible here mentions that this was the seed of the woman, it was making a clear
distinction that this seed was not coming from Adam. In other words, this was
not the man's seed.
Biologists will tell us
that the male carries the seed and the woman carries the egg.
However the mention here
of the woman's seed was pointing to the fact that this descendent of man, was
going to come solely from the woman. This seed was not going to be born by
natural means. This seed was going to be virgin born.
Since this seed comes
from the woman no douobt it is human. The verse highlights tha the two seeds
are to do battle. In order for this fight to be a fair one, it must needs be
that both seeds are similar beings. In this case, they are both humn.
The seed of the serpent
Now let us consider the
seed of the serpent.
We can conclude, based
upon the induction made about the seed of the woman, that this seed of the
serpent was not going to be born by natural means either.
Gen 3:15
And I will put enmity between thee and the
woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou
shalt bruise his heel.
In this verse (gen 3:15)
there is evidence to suggest that this seed would not have a man on earth to
call father. I am not saying that the son of perdition will be virgin born, but
it seems that the son of perdition will be some product of the serpent
and humanity, in the same way that Jesus was the product of humanity and God.
Can angels Pro-create
Please understand that I
am not saying that the fallen angel Lucifer will pro-create with a human. This
is not what I am saying; in spite of an ever growing belief stemming from a
misunderstanding of Genesis 6:1-2 that angels can procreate, Jesus makes this
point abundantly clear in Matth. 22:30
For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor
are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
It was not a privilege
given to them. As a matter of fact, no other creature in all of creation can
pro-create. This is something bestowed only on man. For further reading on the
topic see creation
series – Day 3 on this blog.
As is a common belief
among bible scholars water in prophetic application represent dense population
and land represent sparse population. Then on day 3 God did not ordain the
water to bring forth, he told the land to bring forth. Now we do know today
that sea does have trees and shrubs in it. However it is not recorded that way
in Genesis. This has a special significance upon the role of man.
Types
Let us return to our
study.
There are types of sons
of perdition, as there are types sons of God and scripture makes mention of
both. However as there is only one begotten son of God, it seems there will be
only one person/being/entity who will be able to reckoned the true son of
perdition.
Before I proceed, let me
make this abundantly clear. The devil is in the truest sense the real son of
perdition. For it was in him that sin commenced; he is and was the first child
of disobedience.
You will notice in Gen
3:15 that there is a distinction in the latter part of the verse.
… it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Notice the battle
between the seeds is contextually narrowed between the singular reference of
the seeds. Bible scholars will tell you that this no doubt is that battle that
must take place between the devil and Christ.
Consequently it is not
hard to perceive that Christ is that seed of the woman who should come, and the
devil is the true son of perdition; the seed that would do battle with Christ,
and his seed.
However this battle is
to take place on a much wider scale. The only way that we will be able to make
this connection is if we take a closer look at this battle as it is represented
in the two types of seed present in the Earth.
Types of Sons of Perdition
Since this is a study of
the son of perdition, this is where my focus shall be; however to get a better
picture of the types son of God, there is a study on this blog with the title Sons of God.
To clearly understand the
topic of the sons of perdition it is needful to start at the beginning.
What is perdition?
From a comparison of
texts we can see that perdition is nothing good. The word "perdition"
occurs in the English Bible 8 times (John 17:12; Php 1:28; 2Th 2:3; 1Ti 6:9; Heb 10:39; 2Pe 3:7; Re 17:11,18). In each of these
cases it denotes the final state of ruin and punishment which forms the
opposite to salvation. The verb apolluein, from which the word is derived, has
two meanings:
(1) to lose;
(2) to destroy.
Both of these pass over
to the noun, so that apoleia comes to signify:
(1) loss;
(2) ruin, destruction.
The first human son of perdition
By understanding the meaning
of perdition, we can better understand the meaning of the son of perdition.Gen 4:1&2
4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she
conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And
Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
For this verse, it is necessary
for me to make this one point. In spite of the fact this verse records that Eve
was the one that gave birth to Cain, he is reckoned as the seed of the Satan.
Turn with me to
Not as Cain, who
was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him?
Because his own works were evil, and his brother's [works were] righteous.
Cain is not the
son of perdition. He is only a type. In spite of the fact that a mark (of the
beast) is placed upon him, he is not the literal fulfilment of the
seed that should bruise the heel of the seed of the woman.
There are other
significant mentions of sons of the devil, namely in
Ye are of your
father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer
from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in
him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the
father of it.
While I was with them in the world, I kept them
in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost,
but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
And
2Thes 2:3
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day
shall not come, except there come
a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
However please note that
the prophecy is fulfilled only in part as we consider the fact that Cain (a type
of seed of the serpent) killed Abel (a type of the son of God-John 1:12
, Romans
8:14). We will develop this
further as we consider the mission of the two seeds.
But as many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe
on his name:
For as many as are led
by the Spirit of God, they are the sons
of God
Mission of the seeds
What was the mission of
the son of God?
To find this answer we can
look at the meaning of the names in Christ’s genealogy. Turn to Luke chapter
3:37-38
3:37
Which was [the son] of Mathusala, which was [the son] of Enoch, which
was the son] of Jared, which was [the son] of Maleleel, which was [the son] of
Cainan,
3:38 Which was [the son] of
Enos, which was [the son] of Seth,
Adam- man's representative
Seth- he was to be the replacement
Enos- mortal man
Cainan - nest, a chamber of dwelling
Maleleel - praise of God
Jared- to descend, come down
Enoch - dedicate, train up, initiate or disciple
Mathusala - his death shall bring
From the meaning of the
list here mentioned it is clear what the mission of Christ was supposed to be.
I did not add or take away any words. However I hope that you can see the tie between the names in Christ genealogy and His mission.
The
names listed in the bible in general
also amplify the mission of Christ. We don’t have time to that today,
but I recommend any of you to get a Strong’s Concordance and do some research
on names that are found in the bible and see how the meaning of the name
amplifies the plan of redemption.
Mission
of the son of perdition
This
too can be gleaned from looking at the meaning of the names of Cain’s
descendants.
Adam- man's representative
Cain - A primitive root; to strike a musical note, that is, chant or wail (at a funeral): - lament, mourning woman.
Cain - A primitive root; to strike a musical note, that is, chant or wail (at a funeral): - lament, mourning woman.
Enoch - dedicate, train up, initiate or disciple
Irad - fugitive
Mehujael- smitten of God
Methusael-who demands his death
Lamech.- as if intentional this word is not found in the Hebrew dictionary. But the most notable thing about the person wo wore this name, is that he is the first to be recorded as having 2 wives. The names of these 2 wives tell a story.
Adah: Adornment.
to advance, that is, pass on or continue; causatively to remove; specifically to bedeck (that is, bring an ornament upon): - adorn, deck (self), pass by, take away.
Zillah: Shadow, the tingling of the ear.
A primitive root (rather identical with H6749 through the idea of hovering over (compare H6754)); to shade, as twilight or an opaque object: - begin to be dark, shadowing.
It seems that these two women wore jewelry, one on her person and the other in the ear. If we join the names together up to the name of the wives mentioned, we get a most interesting picture of what the son of perdition would be doing?
After his rwo eives are metnioned, he then confesses that he killed two men, something definitiive of the character of the son of perdition.
After his rwo eives are metnioned, he then confesses that he killed two men, something definitiive of the character of the son of perdition.
jabal/jubal
What are the characteristics
of the son of the devil?
They
are called the seed of the devil: Cain the first child of the devil
Can angels pro-create?
In spite of an ever growing belief that angels can
procreate, this is not the case.
Matth. 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry,
nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
It was not a privilege given to them. As a matter of
fact, no other creature in all of creation can pro-create. This is something
bestowed only on man. I would have to get down deep into the creation series in
order to explain this, but let me just give you a hint.
If water represent dense population and land represent
sparse population. Then on day 3 God did not ordain the water to bring forth,
he told the land to bring forth. Now we do know today that sea does have trees
and shrubs in it. However it is not recorded that way in Genesis. This has a
special significance upon the role of man.
Where did the devils seed come from?
Gen 3:15
The seed of the devil came from Adam. That is why God
had to put enmity between the two seeds. Here is a sort of distorted view of
what would have happened had Adam and Eve been allowed to procreate in the
Garden. God would have separated the seeds, but they would have come together.
What are the
characteristics of the son of the devil cont’d?
They
break traditions
Their
worship seems to be Christian, they bring offerings
They’re
usually involved with someone being slain: the first two records of murder was
in Cain’s genealogy.
There
is usually an attempt to rid themselves of the guilt of the slaying
They
do not love truth
2 thes 2:10
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;
because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
Let’s
go alittle further and look at the story being told through the genealogy
Gen 4:17 -19
4:17
And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he
builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son,
Enoch.
4:18
And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael
begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
4:19
And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one [was] Adah, and
the name of the other Zillah.
Who was the son of
perdition mentioned in John 17
john 17:12
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that
thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition;
that the scripture might be fulfilled.
It is obvious from
context clues, that Judas is the son of Perdition here. However what is
perdition.
Before we look into
that, notice the similarities that exist between Judas and Cain.
They
are called the seed of the devil: Cain the first child of the devil
They
break traditions
Their
worship seems to be Christian, they bring offerings
They’re
usually involved with someone being slain: the first two records of murder was
in Cain’s genealogy.
There
is usually an attempt to rid themselves of the guilt of the slaying
They
do not love truth
2 thes 2:10
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;
because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
And why was he called
the the son of perdiditon?
What is perdition?
Phil 1:”28
1:28 And in nothing terrified by your
adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of
salvation, and that of God.
1 tim 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into
temptation and a snare, and [into] many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown
men in destruction and perdition.
heb 10:39
But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that
believe to the saving of the soul.
How and why was Judas called
the son of perdition
Type fulfilled
Back to gen 3:15
Notice that these are
seeds in a special sense with a special calling
These are not sons of
the woman or sons of the devil
Hence 2 Thess. 2:
makes note of “the” son of perdition. And not referring to the general sons of
perdition.
In the same way that
scripture makes the distinction between anti-christs and the Anti-Christ.
Jesus ministry was for
3 ½ years
The devil’s ministry
was for 3 ½ prophetic years
In the same way thata
Christ was direct to God and Man
The son of perdition
will be direct to Satan and Man
His time will come
back again.rev17
17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not;
and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they
that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book
of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was,
and is not, and yet is.
17:9
And here [is] the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven
mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
17:10
And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, [and] the other
is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
17:11
And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the
seven, and goeth into perdition.
He will bear all the
characteristics overy son of perdition before him
How is the The pope a son
of perdition - head chief- the anti
Christ office
Not covered by the
blood – anyone
2 thess 2:3-10
2:3
Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come],
except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the
son of perdition;
2:4
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that
is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself
that he is God.
2:5
Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these
things?
2:6
And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his
time.
2:7
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth
[will let], until he be taken out of the way.
2:8
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with
the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his
coming:
2:9
[Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power
and signs and lying wonders,
2:10
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;
because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
Appeal
Do you love truth?
Christ dies for us
while we yet his enemies. (scripture) Understand that there is no measure to
amount of love that God expressed for us. The amount of love could not be
described by any greater adjective, than “SO” showing its limitlessness.
Understand that the
fate of those who do not yield to him is certain, however God extended SO much
love towards us that even then we can be saved.
Purpose in your heart
that you will not let the devil win.
When you fall get up. (prov.
– a righteousman)
Don’t stay down and
wallow.
Don’t be a son of
perdition, after God has declared you to be his son, although it has not
appeared what we shall be 1 John 3:
